Diana's Legacy: What is left or what will be left?

[Iluvbertie]

She was a cash cow for the media in her lifetime too. Not much has changed.

Only because her fans insisted on knowing everything about her and buying every magazine etc that had a story or a photo or anything about her.

Her fans bought the stuff and thus the media had a market for their stories and photos and the fans are the ones who are still buying her stuff and lining the pockets of the media and scum like Burrell who has sold her down the river to her fans.

 

[sirhon11234]

Why are you generalizing fans of Diana? Not all of us buy every single Diana memorabilia, books or wanted to know every single detail about her private life. I despise Paul Burrell and Simone Simmons for writing their tell all books about her trying to make a quick buck. And that ridiculous Inquest bringing up Diana's past lovers which had nothing to do with her death. I certainly did not want to know everything about her.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Why are you generalizing fans of Diana? Not all of us buy every single Diana memorabilia, books or wanted to know every single detail about her private life. I despise Paul Burrell and Simone Simmons for writing their tell all books about her trying to make a quick buck. And that ridiculous Inquest bringing up Diana's past lovers which had nothing to do with her death. I certainly did not want to know everything about her.

All right - the vast majority of Diana fans, although there might be some exceptions.

 

[Grace Angel]

I guess Diana was more like a celebrity than royalty to people, in that regard. People always want to know everything about celebrities.

 

[Carminha Stalker]

When Prince Charles came over here to Rio with his new wife, people were astonished that he had married "such an ugly woman" sic...These same people (workers in one of the favelas) were later entranced by French President Sarkozy´s wife, Carla Bruni.
I never met one person who thought that Camilla was like you describe.But all the ones I´ve met liked Diana and thought she had a very difficult time withthe Royal Family.

 

[Skydragon]

I find it sad that some people judge others solely on their looks and that says more about them than the person they are judging. There is an old saying here in the UK, Beauty is skin deep. For many it is the personality and intelligence that is the important thing about a person, not just how much makeup they can apply. Carla Bruni is young, I wonder what she will look like when she is in her 50s, although I have to say I find her very 'hard faced'. Perhaps a rule should be brought in to say that all wives of politicians and princes must have won at least 2 beauty pageants before they are acceptable! As for the 'hard time had by Diana, what about the hard time, distress and embarrassment she caused to her own family, her husbands family, her sons, her friends, the wives/girlfriends of her lovers and the British people? You say 'like I describe', perhaps you could point me in the direction of any description.

Yes there were scandals before Diana, gosh there was even a royal family before Diana, but they didn't make much of a news item, simply because none of them deliberately involved the media. Did Margaret 'tell all' to the press, no of course not. You saw a recent programme showing what about Moustique, very little accuracy I would imagine, much like the the film The Queen most of it in the writers imagination 'supported' by a few facts and the ubiquitous unnamed source.

 

[MARG]

I find it sad that some people judge others solely on their looks and that says more about them than the person they are judging. There is an old saying here in the UK, Beauty is skin deep. For many it is the personality and intelligence that is the important thing about a person, not just how much makeup they can apply.

Here we go further . . . . . . . Beauty is only skin deep but ugly cuts to the bone! And we're not talking looks!

Having said that, I still keep wondering, is this a "pretty" contest or what?

 

[Warren]

I still keep wondering, is this a "pretty" contest or what?

For some it obviously is. By believing that pretty = good and not pretty = bad, the world is greatly simplified and no further thinking is required.

 

[sunshine_93]

I'm totally agree with you,Carminha!
her beauty was internal too...and that's more important!!!I miss her...

 

[Warren]

I miss her...

How can you "miss her"? You were four years old when she died.

 

[sunshine_93]

But she was great woman Warren and I'm sorry that she is not alive and I miss her internal beauty cause it's really rare to see so kind and charitable person like her!!!

 

[Warren]

I'm not questioning Diana's personality or achievements, I'm wondering how someone can "miss" a person they never knew who died when they were four years old.

 

[sunshine_93]

Read my comment again and try to understand!You can like someone without knowing and I miss her cause she was great,kind,polite,and cause she helped the others!Warren,look,I miss her beauty inside of her.I miss people like her-she was unforgottable!

 

[rmay286]

Read my comment again and try to understand!You can like someone without knowing and I miss her cause she was great,kind,polite,and cause she helped the others!Warren,look,I miss her beauty inside of her.I miss people like her-she was unforgottable!

I think I understand you. I've heard people say that they miss the grandmother or grandfather that they've only seen pictures of, so I guess it is possible to "miss" someone you've never known. You think she was such a wonderful person that you wish she could have lived longer. It's not at all the same as missing someone you've known, but then, no one here really knew Diana even if we were older when she died--we just knew her through images in the media.

 

[scooter]

I understood exactly what you meant Sunshine.

Warren, to answer your question, I think it's a bit like when people 'miss the good old days' of QEQM and George VI, even if they were not personally alive then. I was alive and almost exactly the same age as Diana. And as someone who had a family member die of AIDS around the time that Diana made headlines for holding the hand of someone with AIDS, I think she went far towards making those with the disease less of a pariah. That, at the very least, is something IMO to admire her for. She worked very hard for England from day 1 throughout both pregnancies and right up until the divorce, with daily engagements (if not multiple).

<edited because it adds nothing - just another fight>

 

[Dierna23]

I can understand it too. When I watched movies about the Romanovs, I sometimes thought: I miss them! Of course I never knew them, not even I lived in those times. It's a bit weird, but maybe it's more like: something is missing. I always think I'm missing the Grand duchess seen being married for example and have a happy life. Same goes, when I watch Trooping the colour and think I miss the Queem Mother on the balcony...

 

[Lady Meg]

Read my comment again and try to understand!You can like someone without knowing and I miss her cause she was great,kind,polite,and cause she helped the others!Warren,look,I miss her beauty inside of her.I miss people like her-she was unforgottable!

Awe. People were in awe. Ok, this has nothing to do with Diana, but it is something that can compare to what Warren was talking about... not that I agree, but Kurt Cobain.. we all loved him, grew up with his music and then he died. You see kids these days wearing his shirts and listening to his music and it's like .. ?? .. you weren't alive when he was .. you could also compare that to Led Zepplin and myself. I wasn't alive during their time, but I connected with their music when I became old enough. It's called History. People fall in love with it. I can use many examples.. after reading about Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn, etc. Since I was a child I admired Diana. I thought she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen and I wanted to grow up to be a Princess. I collected, well my parents had a book of the Royal Wedding that I looked at ALL the time, they also bought me Paper Dolls of her. I think I still have them somewhere.. at least I hope so. It had all her dresses, including her wedding dress and veil. I felt a strong connection to her. No, I never met her, but I understand you and I know now what I need to to understand why I felt a connection.

 

[Warren]

Since I was a child I admired Diana. I thought she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen and I wanted to grow up to be a Princess

That's the fantasy part, and it's valid to a degree (although less so the value of a person being based on their looks) but as Scooter and others have mentioned, Diana's positive and enduring legacy will be her land mines campaign and her very public stance on HIV/AIDS. Hopefully the negative legacy, to call it that, will fade into the past.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Yes, Warren. The "fairytale" aspects of her life will fade, no doubt; but the serious stands that she took on certain issues will be remembered, as will her undoubted glamour.

That's the fantasy part, and it's valid to a degree (although less so the value of a person being based on their looks) but as Scooter and others have mentioned, Diana's positive and enduring legacy will be her land mines campaign and her very public stance on HIV/AIDS. Hopefully the negative legacy, to call it that, will fade into the past.

 

[Skydragon]

The controversial aspects of her life will also be remembered, the passage of time is rarely kind, at least not IMO.

 

[Iluvbertie]

The controversial aspects of her life will also be remembered, the passage of time is rarely kind, at least not IMO.

Couldn't agree more - her death and the 'who killed her' idea will be a major thing along with the Morton book and the Panorama interview rather than the AIDs campaign etc.

 

[Roslyn]

Last weekend I asked my 94 year old mother what she remembered about Edwina and Louis Mountbatten from the War years and into the 50s. The only things that came to her mind were that he had some connection with the Royal Family and that there was a rumour of an affair regarding Edwina. She remembered nothing specific about Edwina's work with the Red Cross and in India, or Louis' role in the Navy.

Mind you, my mother was never much of a reader and she was probably more interested in Edwina's evening gowns and jewels at the time and might not have known much about her amazing work, but my point is that the thing that came to mind was the affair. I suspect that in years to come that's the sort of thing, along with the circumstances of her death and the book and the interview, that many people will remember about Diana, not the worthy things.

 

[Dierna23]

Yes, people mostly seem to remember the "big scandals". Maybe because that are the things the media mostly reported about.

 

[rmay286]

Yes, people mostly seem to remember the "big scandals". Maybe because that are the things the media mostly reported about.

I think there were two things the media mostly reported about with Diana, and sorry to say, they weren't her work with AIDS or landmines (although I'm sure those will be remembered by those who follow royalty). I think that before her death, Diana was mainly known for being beautiful, compassionate, and a fashion icon. She became this image of the "perfect princess" and the thousands and thousands of pictures taken of her in the 1980s and early 1990s aren't going to disappear. When William marries, or when he is crowned, or when Charles becomes king, the footage of Charles and Diana's wedding is going to resurface, and the media will show the pictures of Diana holding children, and even people who don't know much about Diana will be captivated and think "Oh, she was a fairytale princess." I know, it's inner beauty that counts, but in reality everyone judges people according to their outward appearance and the truth is, whatever she did in her life, Diana was very photogenic and she had a very sweet way with people. Future generations who look at pictures of Diana are going to notice these things, just like many people did in the 80s when they saw images of her for the first time.

The other aspect of Diana's life that I think was mainly covered in the media was her attention-seeking and deceptive behaviour. That endless inquest pretty much dragged every fact and rumour and innuendo about Diana's life into the open, and a lot of it was ugly--her affair with Hewitt, the phone calls to Oliver Hoare, the glitzy lifestyle with Dodi that ended in a high-speed paparazzi chase.

So I think public opinion on Diana is going to be divided. People probably won't know much about Diana in a few decades' time, but by the people who know anything about her, she's either going to be remembered as the fairytale princess who was a victim of a heartless royal family, or the villain who went out of her way to destroy the monarchy.

One thing I don't see happening is Camilla becoming better known/remembered than Diana, as I think was mentioned here a while back. She rarely seems to get much media attention, and she's actually a little older than Charles and doesn't seem to come from as long-lived a family, so probably if she does become queen she will just be an elderly queen with him for 10 years or so and be forgotten a few years after her death. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I think Diana is going to have a much more significant public legacy than most other people in the royal family for years to come (both positive and negative).

 

[sirhon11234]

Couldn't agree more - her death and the 'who killed her' idea will be a major thing along with the Morton book and the Panorama interview rather than the AIDs campaign etc.

Only time will tell if that will be true.

 

[Skydragon]

... So I think public opinion on Diana is going to be divided. People probably won't know much about Diana in a few decades' time, but by the people who know anything about her, she's either going to be remembered as the fairytale princess who was a victim of a heartless royal family, or the villain who went out of her way to destroy the monarchy.
...

I disagree, very few children/young women believe in fairytales and the heartless royal family myth has already been exposed as fiction rather than fact. Nor do I believe others will see her as having gone out of her way to destroy the monarchy. They will remember the divisions she caused, (as on here, ) for having a number of affairs (for whatever reason), for leaving doubts as to the parentage of one of her sons and mental health/personality issues. For the surface skimmers, she will be remembered as wearing some pretty frocks.

 

[Iluvbertie]

I disagree, very few children/young women believe in fairytales and the heartless royal family myth has already been exposed as fiction rather than fact. Nor do I believe others will see her as having gone out of her way to destroy the monarchy. They will remember the divisions she caused, (as on here, ) for having a number of affairs (for whatever reason), for leaving doubts as to the parentage of one of her sons and mental health/personality issues. For the surface skimmers, she will be remembered as wearing some pretty frocks.

I really like the last comment

 

[MARG]

Ouch!

 

[sirhon11234]

Stop it this isn't a playground.

I very much agree with all you said rmay286.

 

[Marsel]

I am too young to remember the heyday of Diana’s popularity, having been born just 4 years before her tragic death. Nevertheless, I do know her, and not only for her fashion sense and discord she brought into the Royal Family. And I’m from Russia – a country that is not famous for its interest in Royals, even our very own.
Personally I remember Diana for the kindness she displayed towards those who were indeed of it, for her landmine campaign, for her attitude towards HIV infected people.

I know she wasn't the first Royal to show support for HIV infected people (Princess Anne got there first, I believe), nor was she the first to be engaged in anti-landmine campaign, and most definitely not the only one who showed care towards 'ordinary' people. Nevertheless, Diana touched many lives (in good and in bad way) - more than arguably anyone, Royal or not, before her.

Diana did cause a lot of pain, a lot of problems for the Royal Family – and they still has to face some even 12 years after her death. Some of her ill-considered actions hurt the people she loved (especially her sons) and will do nothing for her image in the long run, and that’s part of her legacy too. The Panorama interview, the Morton book, the affairs – they are all there, and will likely get more prominence because, as Skydragon said, history is never kind.

However, her good works will be remembered too: maybe in 50 years time people will forget just what exactly she fought for, but the image of someone who helped people will stay, just as the image of someone who did a lot of misguided things. Of course, she may well be forgotten or remembered in name-only in 200 or 500 years, but then, so will practically everyone.